1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of survival suits designed to protect wearers exposed to cold environments and, more particularly, to survival suits designed to float when placed in water.
2. Description of the Related Art
Crewmembers on a ship often wear heavy, insulated work clothing to keep them warm. Often, the work clothing includes an inflatable collar that the crewmember selectively inflates when he is thrown involuntarily into the waves. If the crewmember is not removed from the cold water in a few minutes, hypothermia sets in shortly which may lead to death. When a crewmember knows that the ship is sinking and will be forced to enter the water shortly, he or she will immediately put on a survival suit that offers more protection against hypothermia.
Typical survival suits are bulky, full-body suits made of one thick, heavy layer of waterproof material. Some survival suits include an inflating neck collar that is selectively inflated by the wearer to provide floatation. Unfortunately, survival suits only offer limited protection against hypothermia.
What is needed is an improved survivor suit which offers greater protection against hypothermia.